Culvert



M. AND J. M. KAMMERER. I Y CULVERT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, 1921.

' a SHEETS-SHEEY I.

Mm Emmy a; John M .Kammerer INVENTORJ n Jiew ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

M. AND J. M. KAMMERER.

CULVEHT. APPLICATION FILED JULYZY. 192

3 $HEETS-SHEET 2.

)INVENTORJ ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

M. AND 1. M. KAMMERER.

CULVERT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 27. 1921.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

3 SHEETS-8HEET 3. 3

g "*3 R i g gnwntou 5 [1. [Emmeren @7226 Aammerwaw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MATHIAS KAMMERER AND JOHN M. KAMMERER, OF EL 1ASO,' ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-HALF TO ARTHUR HENNING AND JOHN F. SCI-IOFIELD, BOTH OF EL PASO,

ILLINOIS.

CULVERT.

Application filed July 27,

To all w 7mm it may concern: 7

Be it known that we, MATHiAs Karrmnnnn and J 01 n M. KAMMEPER, citizens of the United States, residing at El Paso, in the county of Woodford and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Uulverts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in culverts of the type consisting of molded sections which may be easily assembled to provide a finished. cul vert possessing many advantages, other than the desirable characteristics of a culvert constructed entirely on thesite where the same is to be located.

An important object of the invention is to provide molded arched sections and floor sections, and means for securely locking the sections constituting the culvert together.

Another object of the invention is to 'provide a culvert consisting of a plurality of ready molded sections which after being assembled in their relative places are united or made into an integral structure by concrete being poured at certain places in theculvert.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of an arrangement of tierods for the various sections of the culvert whereby all possibility of any relative movement between the sections is precluded thereby providing a culvert which is practically a one piece structure.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a culvert of the above named type which is so constructed as to preclude any possibility of the structure settling after it has been installed.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of a simple and effective means for anchoring the head walls of the culvert and interlocking them with other parts of the culvert.

A further object of the invention to pro vide a culvert possessing the features above set forth which is exceedingly simple and durable and may be installed in the minimum of time.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification and wherein like Specification of Letters Patent. 7 Patented Apr. 11, 1922- 1921. Serial No. 487,903.

numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is aside elevation of a completed culvert embodying our invention.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing a part thereof in section.

Figure 3 is a transverse section through the culvert,

V Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the arched sections illustrating the reinforcinghand anchoring means associated there wit Fi ure 5 is a 1 ers ective view of a floor section or'slab embodying our improvements, Flgure 6 1s a slde elevation of 'a portion.

of a culvert showing a modified means of interlocking and anchoring the various sec tions,

Figure 7 is an enlarged transverse section of the same,

Figure 8 is. a top plan of a modified form of floor section,

Figure 9' is an enlarged perspective view of an arch section embodying a modified form of reinforcing and anchoring means,

Figure 10 is a perspective view of one of the head walls of the culvert illustrating the anchor and reinforcing'means therefor.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a part of a modified form of floor section.

Figure 12 is a top plan of the culvert embodying the modified sections.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary side elevation of a culvert embodying a slightly modified form of anchoring means.

In the drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration we have shown the preferred embodiments of our invention, the numeral 15 designates the floor or base of the culvert which consists of a plurality of molded sections 16 adapted to be supported by a suitable foundation and which may be positioned in a trench if desired. These sections are preferably molded from concrete and each consists of a substantially rectangular slab, the intermediate ones in the culvert each having one transverse end provided with a horizontal groove 17 extending the entire width thereof, while the opposite transverse abutting end is provided with a transversely extending tongue or rib 18 adapted to fit the groove 17 of the adjacent fioor section 16. This interlocking feature between the floor sections is only provided.

upon the inner transverse endsof the end sections in the culvert for obvious reasons.

Each floor section 16 along its longitudinal edges is provided with upstanding walls 19 whichesztend a substantialdistance above the top face of the section. Rising from the upper face of the section are a pair of spaced similar walls or ribs 20, each being spaced. from its adjacent wall 19 to provide each floor section with a trough 21 extending-longitudinally of the section adjacent each longitudinal side-edge thereof. The top surface of the ribsor shoulders 20 are preferably flat and arranged inza'plane parallel to the top surface of the floor section. The inner'lolrgit-'udinal edges ofthe ribs arerounded off to merge into the top face off the section to form. a. channel 22 arranged longitudinally and centrally of the section. v

In'the' trough 21 of each floor section, as

shown in Figure 5, a tie rod23-isprovided to extend longitudinally of the-trough. In the present modification, each'tie rod con-' sists of an inverted; U shaped' member having its ends dependingto beembedded in the bottom of" the trough.

A's clearly seen, the elongated bridge portion ofeachtie "rod is: spaced: above i the bottom: of the trough and is arranged in aplane approximately par allel to the plane of the top=surfacesofthe ribs 19 and 20. These tie rods preferably disposed. equi-dilstant from theIside walls of its trough. It is to be understood that we do not. limit: ourselves-to the specific manner of. anchoring the tierodsto the various sections, as innumerable waysofsecuring the tie rods to the sectionsinay be resorted to without departing from thespirit' of the invention.

' Therfloorsections are assembled bypositioning the various sections upon their foundation and'alining them so that the ribs 19 and 20 are longitudinally a lined and thetongue-18 of one section 1fits in its groove 17 of the adjacent'section. When the-sections are assembled in this manner, it will be ob- *ioustha-tsa trough 21 is; arranged adja cent each longitudinal side of the structureformed and extends from one endofthe culverti to the other.

As clearly seen in FlgUlGSQ, 3 and'4t, each arch section 2 1 consists of a roof' portion having side walls depending therefrom in spacedpa-rallel relation, and it is to be understoodthat th'e arch sections need not be of'iarched configuration but may be of any other-shape desired; As best appreciated from e 3, the 1 distance between the in Her: snr ftuze-sof the sides 10f the archsectionis le'sssthan-"the distance between the outer surfaces of the; ribs 20 so thatwhen the arch sections are positioned:upon-the floor sec tie *the bottoms of the arches-will be supported upon the -ribs 20 as at 2'5, and the ontr'surlfacesio the lower ends of 'thearch:

'fioor sectionsand the sections willv be spaced inwardly from the inner faces of the walls 19 of the troughs, for a purpose which will be presently described.

Depending from the under face of each side wall of each arch section 24' is a preferably U-shaped tie rod 27 which extends longitudinally of the section, the vertical ends 28 of'which are embedded in the walls of the arch section; As seen in Figure 1, an end wall 29 is provided for each end of the culvert and is molded from concrete the same as the other sections of the culvert. The lower ends of these-end walls are also adapted to be supported upon the ribs 20 of the floor sections in the same manneras.

the arch section and each end wallis pro= yidedat each sidewit-han outwardly'and downwardly inclined brace portion 30 as clearly shown. A lJ-shapedtie rod 31" depends'froin the under face of each leg of the end Wall the sameas the tie rod of the each section.

After the floor sections 16 have been assembled in the manner outlined herein, the arch sections 2 1- are positioned thereon in the manner herein stated so that-the meeting or abutting'end of the-arch sections are disposed approximately halfway betweenlthe abutting ends ofthe floor sections as clearly shown in=Figu re l; The end walls 29 are positioned upon'theend floor sections at each end of the culvert in a manner well understood. When the-various sect-ionsare assembled in this-'manner, the tie rods of the arch sections andend wa lls depend into the troughs 21 provide d by the floor outer faces of the ribs 20, as clearly shown'in Figure 3'. Freshly mixed concrete 32 is then poured'into the troughs 21 between the outsides of the'arch sections and the upstanding walls 19 of the floor sections. This concrete is thentamped around the tie rods and after: it has-set, it will'be seen that all ofthe sections of the culvert will he int-erloclredand firmlyv bound together. Due to the fact that the floor sections span the meeting edges of the arch sections it will be seen that the tie rods of the floor' sections will lap the joints of the arch sections'and the tie rods of the arch sections will'lap themeeting edgesof the floor sections as clearly seen in Figure 2.

A slightly modified form of. floor section and arrangement-of tie rods'is shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8, the floor sections each consisting of a molded concrete slab 33'hav-' ing: a longitudinally extendingshoulder 3% (best seen in Fig. 7) adjacent each longitudinal edge and'the top face of the slab; A U-shaped tie rod'ffitfhas its-ends'35 embedded in the longitudinal sides oflthe floorslab'so' that the rod will'entend laterallyiof the sec tion and: be disposed so that its-endsand sections and are arranged between'the tie rods 230 the therewith in the same manner as the tie rods 27 are with the arch sections 24: and depend from the underfaces of the side walls as clearly seen in Figures 6 and 7. These tie rods are designated by the numerals 27 and their intermediate portions 36 are offset up-' wardly of the arch sections as clearly shown in Figure 6 so that when the arch sections are assembled with the floor sections, the ends of each tie rod 27 will be disposed between the tie rods 34 of adjacent floor sections and the sides of said sections. The ends of the tie rods 27 will also be disposed below the tie rods 34.- of the floor sections, while the intermediate portions 36 of the arch rods will be disposed above the tie rods 3a and will lap the meeting ends of adjacent floor sections. In this modification of the invention, a trench in the ground would be provided to receive the'fioor sections 33 so that a trough would be provided at each side of the assembled floor section whereby freshly mixed concrete could be poured into the troughs and tamped around the tie rods to interlock the sections. However, it will be obvious that the same type of floor section as shown in Figure 5 may be used in conjunction with this embodiment of the invention, in which case the tie rods 3st would extend laterally from the ribs 20 into the troughs and the arch sections would be supported upon the ribs 20 as hereinbefore set forth so that spaces of sufficient width for the pouring of concrete into the troughs would be provided.

In Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 another embodiment of our invention is illustrated wherein we employ a diiferent form of anchoring or tie means for the various sections. Each floor section 16 has its troughs provided with upstanding rods 37 the lower ends of which are embedded in the bottoms of the troughs. It is to be understood that these rods may be provided anywhere in the troughs and furthermore, may constitute the free end or ends of U-shaped tie rods which are embedded in the floor sections. The tie rods 38 for the arch sections are substantially Ushaped, the free ends 39 thereof being embedded in the underfaces of the side walls of the arch sections as clearly shown in Fig ure 9. However, these free ends 39 are bent where they enter the section so that the arms of the tie rods extend outwardly of the side walls of the arch section and slightly beyond the same as clearly shown. This construction causes the bridge portions of the tie rods 38 to be disposed laterally of the side walls of the arch sections and in approximately the same plane with the underfaces of the side walls, although we do not limit ourselves to this specific arrangement.

The tie rods 40 of the end walls 29 of the culvert are also substantially U-shaped as clearly seen in Figure 10, the arched portions ll of these rods being extended inwardly of the culvert and laterally of the rear faces of the end wall. These tie rods, like those of the arch sections shown in Figure 9 are preferably disposed in approximately the same plane of the under faces of the end walls. The arms 42 of these tie rods are arranged in spaced parallel relation and at their free ends are bent to be embedded in the under faces of the end wall. In the present instance one arm 42 of each tie rod is longer than the other so that the ends of these arms may extend into the end walls at different points to reinforce the structure The various sectionsof this embodiment of the invention are assembled in the same manner as the sections in the preceding embodiment, so that the tie rods of the arch sections and end walls are disposed within the troughs 21 of the floor sections and the rods 37 of the latter pass through the loops of the tie rods as best'seen in Figure 12. The rods 37 are then bent to overlap the tie rods 38 and 40, after which concrete is poured into the troughs to cover the tie rods and thereby anchor the sections together.

Slightly different arrangements of tie means are shown in Figures 13 and 14, the tie rods 38 of the arched sections 24, in Figure 13 being the same as the rod 38 shown in Figure 9. The tie rods 43 for the floor sections 16 are of substantially U- shaped configuration, the free ends 44 of the rods being embedded in the longitudinal sides of the floor sections and extended first laterally of the sides then downwardly thereof. Vhen assembled, the tie rods 3% of the arch sections will be arranged beyond the arms 44 of the tie rods 43 and slightly thereabove as clearly shown in Figure 13.

The foregoing description and accon1- panying drawings have reference to what might be considered to be the approved or preferred form of our invention. WVe desire it to be understood that we may make such changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, material, dimensions, etc., as may prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A culvert structure, comprising a plurality of abutting molded base sections, the transverse meeting ends of adjacent sections provided with complementary loclc ing means and each base section provided Mbw with marginal. longitudinal troughs, a plurality of abutting arched root sections the meetii adjacent ends of which are located intermediate the ends of said base sections, the Width of said roof sections being less than the Width of said base sections, tie rods embedded in the opposite Walls of each roof section, each tie rod formed with a bridge portion bent laterally of the side wall of its section and disposed longitudinally thereof, tie rods disposed in the troughs of said base sections and positively interlocked with the tie rods o1 said root sections by being inserted through the bridge portions of said first mentioned tie rods and bentapproximately at right angles, and a binding material in said trough for cementing said sections together.

2. A culvert structure, comprising a phirality of molded base sectionsprovided with troughs extending longitudinallv thereof adjacent their side edges, a plurality offmolded root sections, tie rods embedded in the opposite Walls of each roof section, each tie rod formed with a bridge portion bent laterally of the side Wall oi 1tssec tion and disposed longitudinally thereof,

tie rods disposed in the troughs-ofsaid'base sections and positively interlocked With the tie rods of sand roof sections by being inserted. through the-bridge portions of. sai-l first-mentioned tie rodsand bent approximately at right angles,.and a binding material insaid troughs for cementing" said sections together.

3. A. culvertstructure, comprising apinrality of molded base sections provided with troughs extending longitudinally thereof adjacent their side. edges, a plurality of molded roof sections, tie rods embedded in said base sections and located Within sa d troughs, tie. rods embedded in the opposite Walls of said roof sections and staggeredly With respect to the tie rods in said base sections and to'coact therewith. and a bindingmaterial in said troughs for cementing said sections and tie rods together.

4. A roof section for a culvert com ?IlS- ing an arched member of plastic material molded into forn1,:and tie rods for said section embedded in the opposite Walls thereof, each tie rod formedwith a bridge portion bent laterally of the side Wall and disposed longitudinally thereof. 'lntestimony whereof We atfix our signatu-resin presence 01" two Witnesses.

MATHIAS KriMMERER. JOHN M. KAMMERER. Witnesses CLAY M. Donner, C. GLSOHROEDER.

arranged 

